The Blessing Way (The X-Files)

"The Blessing Way" is the first episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 22, 1995. It was directed by R.W. Goodwin, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "The Blessing Way" featured guest appearances by Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Peter Donat and Jerry Hardin, and introduced John Neville as the Well-Manicured Man. The episode helped explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "The Blessing Way" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.3, being watched by 19.94 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder is found near death on a Navajo reservation, and is nursed back to health by the tribe, led by Albert Hosteen (Westerman). Meanwhile, Scully investigates an implant found in her neck, and fears that her life—and those of her family—may be in danger. "The Blessing Way" is part of a three-episode storyline, carrying on from the second season finale "Anasazi", and continuing in the next episode, "Paper Clip".

Series creator Chris Carter, who called the episode one of his favorite episodes to write, created the episode as a way to explore how the character of Fox Mulder would react to the death of his father. The episode contained several elaborate special effects; effects producer Mat Beck considered the sequence where Mulder has a vision of his father and Deep Throat to be one of the most difficult of the season.